I don’t usually do reviews for pop bands from Mullingar, but I felt I needed to this time. Just kidding! We all love to see our own doing well and making a name for themselves and The Academic are doing just that. They’ve just released their debut, as in a matter of hours ago, titled ‘Tales From The Backseat‘. I’ve given it a quick listen and here are my thoughts.
Firstly, a quick listen as I’ve just mentioned, never does an artist justice. However, a first listen can reveal a lot and I’ve got to say, The Academic offer quite a lot with their debut. Two Door Cinema Club spring to mind when ‘Permanent Vacation’, the first track begins. It’s obvious this will be an indie pop-rock record and though that’s not usually my taste, I’m more than willing to indulge. Some solid guitar work pushes the song through and it’s actually a great opener. ‘Bear Claws’ follows, the song that brought these guys the attention and it’s a little more daring. The theme is apparent by now, even just by looking at the track list you and guess it’s a pop, teen love record. But that’s cool, it’s where they’re at and obviously there’s a massive, massive market for it, so I’m sure sell out shows won’t be hard to come by. Simple little touches such as the understated guitar in the backdrop of ‘Different’ helps the sound because apart from that, they’ve got the usual sound you’d expect from such a group. Again, that’s not a fault, it’s just the genre.
One of the other tracks that does it for me is ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends?’, a track Clash called “ultra catchy indie pop”, which it is. It brings a slightly varied sound and lyrical approach, telling the story of being pissed at a house party, handling yourself and dealing with midnight lovers. At least that’s what I take away from it. ‘Fake ID’ is a little cracker, catchy as hell. It’s something these guys certainly have in abundance, infectious youthful exuberance. Eww, typing that makes me feel old. As a whole, it’s an easy record to play straight through, an essential aspect for any record really but for indie pop in particular. It’s easy to lose listeners if you can’t produce catchy, easy on the ear tunes.
A solid indie pop record, I foresee these guys having a big 2018, both nationally and internationally. In fact, they play The Late Late Show tonight which will be worth a watch! Definitely keep an eye on these guys going forward.
G.M
Photo Credit: iTunes
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